A new law that passed through the House of Representatives last month and is waiting for President Obama’s signature will increase protections offered to soldiers oversees. Soldiers already receive some protections from the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which include being able to terminate a lease and puts a cap on the interest rate creditors can charge.

However, to exercise these protections many servicemembers need find an attorney, which can be a difficult task for soldiers serving overseas. This is the issue targeted by the new package of bills, which aims to simplify the process by which soldiers utilize protections offered to them under SCRA. The motivation behind the bill is that the last thing a soldier should be worrying about is home foreclosure or car repossession.

The ABA has been active in their efforts to increase assistance to servicemembers in need of legal service. The ABA Military Pro Bono Project connects soldiers with local attorneys willing to work pro-bono to assert servicemembers’ rights. The goal of the project is to streamline the sometimes chaotic process of linking a soldier to a local attorney through Jag Corps. Many local attorneys have taken it as a point of pride to represent a soldier fighting oversees.  

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